Methods and apparatus for transfer of heat energy between a body surface and heat transfer fluid

ABSTRACT

In methods and apparatus for heat exchange to and from a body surface using a heat transfer fluid the fluid is impinged on the surface from a plurality of delivery inlets in the form of a corresponding plurality of spaced delivery streams and is immediately removed from the plenum upon rebounding from the surface through a plurality of spaced removal outlets distributed among the delivery streams, thus establishing corresponding very short uninterrupted flow paths between each inlet and its removal outlet/s. Preferably, the fluid stream velocity is sufficient for it to penetrate and disrupt a fluid boundary layer on the body surface. Each delivery inlet may have its outlet to the surface spaced from 0.001 cm to 0.2 cm (0.0004 in to 0.08 in) from that surface. Each delivery inlet may produce a jet impinging the surface of from 0.3 cm to 1.5 cm (0.12 in to 0.6 in) diameter. The delivery streams may impinge a flat body surface from a right angle to an acute angle, while when the body surface is curved the delivery streams may impinge from a right angle to one that is tangential thereto. A particular apparatus with which the heat exchanger may be used has a cylindrical rotor rotating within a cylindrical stator so that the body surface is cylindrical; the rotor diameter may be from 0.1 cm to 500 cm (0.04 in to 200 ins).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a utility application stemming from myprovisional application entitled Method and Apparatus for RadialImpingement Heat Transfer, filed Sep. 13, 2001 and given serial No.60/318,985.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention is concerned with new methods and apparatus for thetransfer of heat energy between body surfaces and heat transfer fluids,wherein the surfaces are contacted by the fluids for such transfer. Suchapparatus almost universally is referred to as a heat exchanger. Moreparticularly, but not exclusively, the invention is concerned with newmethods and apparatus for cooling a surface of a body in which heatenergy is being produced, or for heating a surface of a body in whichheat energy is being consumed, by contacting the body surface with heattransfer fluid.

BACKGROUND ART

[0003] The requirement to transfer or exchange heat energy betweenbodies, and/or between fluids separated by a body wall, and/or between abody and a fluid, is essential in a vast number of processes andapparatus and the design and application of heat exchangers is now avery mature art. Such heat exchange apparatus may consist of a separatestructure to which the transfer fluid is supplied and from which it isdischarged, or it may be associated with and/or form part of apparatusin which the heat energy is produced or consumed. There is a constantendeavor to make the heat exchange as efficient as possible, and acorresponding endeavor to make the apparatus as compact as possible inorder to facilitate minimization of associated parameters, such as thespace required, the weight and the cost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0004] It is the principal object of the invention therefore to providenew methods and apparatus for such transfer of heat energy between bodysurfaces and heat transfer fluids which facilitate such an endeavor.

[0005] In accordance with the present invention there is providedmethods for transferring heat energy to and from a body surfacerespectively from and to heat transfer fluid that is introduced into andremoved from a space bounded by the body surface for heat transfercontact with the body surface, the method comprising:

[0006] applying heat transfer fluid introduced into the space to thebody surface from a plurality of delivery inlets in the form of acorresponding plurality of spaced delivery streams impinging on the bodysurface; and

[0007] thereafter removing heat transfer fluid rebounding from thesurface from the space through a plurality of spaced removal outletsdistributed among the delivery streams to establish corresponding flowpaths for the heat transfer fluid between each delivery inlet and one ormore removal outlets.

[0008] Also in accordance with the invention there is provided newapparatus for transferring heat energy to and from a body surfacerespectively from and to heat transfer fluid that is introduced into andremoved from a space bounded by the body surface for heat transfercontact with the body surface, the apparatus comprising:

[0009] a plurality of delivery inlets delivering heat transfer fluidthat is introduced into the space to the surface in the form of acorresponding plurality of spaced delivery streams impinging on the bodysurface;

[0010] means for supplying heat transfer fluid to the delivery inlets;and

[0011] a plurality of spaced removal outlets distributed among thedelivery inlets through which heat transfer fluid rebounding from thesurface is removed from the space after its passage in correspondingflow paths established between each delivery inlet and one or moreremoval outlets.

[0012] Preferably the fluid delivery streams impinge on the body surfaceat a velocity sufficient to penetrate fully any fluid boundary layer onthe body surface.

[0013] Preferably each delivery inlet is disposed immediately adjacentits associated one or more removal outlets to ensure that thecorresponding flow path or paths are uninterrupted.

[0014] When the body surface is flat the delivery streams impinge thebody surface at an angle thereto from a right angle to an acute angle,and when it is curved about an axis they impinge the body surface at anangle thereto from a right angle to an angle that is tangential to thesurface.

[0015] In apparatus in which the body surface is cylindrical it may beof diameter from 0.1 cm (0.04 in) to 500 cm (200 ins), and each deliveryinlet may be spaced a distance from 0.001 cm (0.0004 in) to 0.2 cm (0.08in) from the surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Particular preferred embodiments of the invention will now bedescribed, by way of example, with reference to the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings, wherein:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a part elevation, part longitudinal cross section,through a first embodiment of heat transfer apparatus of the inventionas applied to a specific form of material processing apparatus, andillustrating a corresponding method of heat energy transfer of theinvention;

[0018]FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section through a part of theapparatus of the apparatus of FIG. 1 to a larger scale to show ingreater detail the structure of the heat exchange apparatus;

[0019]FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section through apparatus as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, taken on the line 3-3 in FIG. 1, to show the cylindricalmembers and their axial relation to one another;

[0020]FIG. 4 is a cross section similar to FIG. 2 in which the streamsof heat transfer fluid impinging the surface to be cooled or heated, asseen in transverse cross section, are directed at the surface at anangle other than perpendicular (at a right angle) thereto;

[0021]FIG. 5 is a cross section similar to FIG. 3 in which the streamsof heat transfer fluid impinging the surface to be cooled or heated, asseen in longitudinal cross section, are directed at the surface at anangle other than perpendicular (at a right angle) thereto; and

[0022]FIGS. 6 and 7 are longitudinal cross sections through apparatusthat are other and further embodiments of the invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0023] Similar or equivalent parts are given the same reference numberin all of the figures of the drawings, wherever that is possible. Thethickness of various walls and the spacing between certain surfaces areexaggerated whenever necessary for clarity of illustration.

[0024] A particular apparatus for high shear processing consists of twocylinders mounted one inside the other for rotation relative to oneanother about a common axis, the cylinders providing an annularprocessing gap between their opposed inner and outer surfaces. Thematerials to be processed are fed into the annular space which is ofspecific, very small dimensions in which the processing that is takingplace is independent of volume effects, being constituted instead by theinteraction of boundary layers of the materials on the opposed surfaces,with or without an intervening layer that, if present, is too thin forso-called Taylor vortices (see below) to be established. Immediatelyupon entry of the material or materials into the annular space a verylarge interfacial contact area is produced which is subject to extremerates of surface renewal. Unusually high shear rates of very uniformvalue can be created which, due to the confinement of the material/s ina narrow gap of precise predetermined dimensions, results in thecreation of vortices of correspondingly small dimension whichdrastically enhance mass, heat and momentum transfer. The inherentgeneration in liquid bodies of very small eddies of minimum size ofabout 10-20 microns diameter by conventional bulk volume stirringprocesses was first shown by Dr. A. N. Kolmogoroff, after whom sucheddies are named. The eddies that are produced in this apparatus aremuch smaller than Kolmogoroff vortices and are therefore referred to assub-Kolmogoroff vortices, while eddies that are much larger thanKolmogoroff vortices are referred to as supra-Kolmogoroff vortices. Suchapparatus is described and shown, for example, in my U.S. Pat. No.5,279,463 (issued Jan. 18, 1994) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,191 (issuedJul. 23, 1996), and in my U.S. application Ser. No. 09/802,037, filedMar. 7, 2001, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by thisreference. In another type of the apparatus described in thesedisclosures the cylindrical rotor and stator have their longitudinalaxes parallel but displaced from one another to provide an annular flowpassage that varies in radial dimension about the circumferences of theopposed surfaces. The passage thus comprises a flow path containing azone in which the passage radial spacing is smaller than in theremainder of the passage to provide a highest-shear processing zone inwhich free supra-Kolmogoroff eddies are suppressed.

[0025] Processing apparatus as briefly described above takes advantageof the special properties of the thin tenacious boundary layer that isalways present whenever a viscous fluid is in contact with a surface,together with the interaction that can be produced between two boundarylayers on two relatively moving surfaces when they are sufficientlyclose together to interact. The most practical form taken by theapparatus is two coaxial cylinders with an annular processing spacebetween them, the inner cylinder being rotated while the outer one isstationary. The type of flow obtained between two such surfaces whenthey are relatively widely spaced is commonly known as Couette flow andhas been well described by G. I. Taylor who showed that when a certainReynolds number was exceeded the previously stratified flow in theannular space became unstable and vortices appeared, now known as Taylorvortices, whose axes are located along the circumference of the rotorparallel to its axis of rotation and which rotate in alternatelyopposite directions. The conditions for the flow to become unstable inthis manner can be expressed with the aid of a characteristic number nowknown as the Taylor number, depending upon the radial width of theannular gap, the radius of the rotor, and its peripheral velocity. As isdescribed in more detail in my prior application Ser. No. 09/802,037filed Mar. 7, 2001 referred to above, when using such apparatus forthorough and uniform high-shear micro-mixing the presence of the Taylorvortices inhibits the action or reaction desired, since the material tobe treated becomes entrained in the vortices and consequently at leastpartially segregated, whereupon high-shear mixing becomes impossible andinstead much slower molecular diffusion processes predominate. Thespacing between the external rotor surface and the internal statorsurface must therefore be small enough that Taylor vortices are notgenerated.

[0026] Such methods and apparatus are operable, for example, to quicklyforcibly dissolve gases in liquids in which they are normally of lowsolubility, or to virtually instantaneously emulsify non-miscibleliquids, or to chemically react two or more materials together with veryhigh reaction rates, sometimes even in the absence of the catalysts,special solvents, surface active materials, etc. that frequently arerequired in conventional processes to obtain economically acceptablereaction rates. In general, most chemical reactions and many physicalreactions are to a greater or lesser degree either endothermic orexothermic, and many are quite strongly so. The higher reaction ratesthat are possible result in a corresponding considerably increasedproduction or loss of heat, some of which can be transferred out of theapparatus via the exiting fluid/s, but the remainder of which must betransferred though the walls of the stator and/or rotor if the processtemperature is to be maintained within required limits. Another factorthat is important in such apparatus is that the heat conductivity of thetwo thin boundary layer films is very high, since there is no bulk layerbetween them through which the heat must pass, as with conventional bulkstirring systems. The achievement of the highest possible heat transferrate, if possible higher than is strictly necessary in order to providea margin for adjustment, is therefore desirable to ensure that theprocessing temperature can at all times readily be maintained withinthose required limits, which can constitute a very narrow range, e.g.±1° C.

[0027] In apparatus as illustrated schematically by FIG. 1, first andsecond reactant materials are fed from respective supply tanks 10 and 12via respective metering pumps or valves 14 and 16 to an inlet 18 at oneend of the apparatus. If required optional functional materials such ascatalysts, reactant gas/es, surfactant/s, etc. as required for theprocess, are fed from a third supply tank 20 also via a metering pump orvalve 21. With the high reaction rates that are obtainable it ispreferred to feed the materials into the processing zone as accuratelyas possible in the stoichiometric ratio required for any reaction thattakes place. Separate inlets 14 can of course be used and, if used, willbe distributed around the circumference of the apparatus and/or spacedlongitudinally along the flow path through the apparatus.

[0028] An apparatus baseplate 22 carries rotor bearing supports 24,stator supports 26 and a variable speed electric drive motor 28. Acylindrical tube 30 of uniform diameter and wall thickness along itslength constitutes the apparatus stator body and is mounted on thesupports 26, the tube being enclosed by another cylindrical tube 32 thatis coaxial therewith and extends along substantially its entire length,this tube 32 constituting the outermost casing of a heat exchanger ofthe invention. Both of these tubes have longitudinal axes that arecoincident with one another and lie on the common central longitudinalline 33. A rotor shaft 34 is carried by the rotor bearing supports 24with one end connected to the motor 28. The shaft carries a cylindricalrotor 36, the longitudinal axes of rotation of both the shaft and therotor body being coincident with one another along the line 33, andtherefore coincident with the longitudinal axis of the stator tube 30.An annular cross section processing passage or chamber 38 of uniformradial dimension around its circumference, and with a longitudinal axiscoincident with the other axes is formed between inner cylindricalsurface 40 of stator 30, outer cylindrical surface 42 of rotor 36, andinner annular surfaces 44 of two end closure members 46, the ends of thechamber being closed against leakage by respective end seals 48 thatsurround the shaft 34. Material that has been processed in the chamber38 is discharged through an outlet 50 at the other end.

[0029] As has been stated above, in practice it is unusual for aphysical and/or chemical reaction to proceed isothermally, i.e. withoutthe generation or consumption of heat energy, with the result that thematerial being processed, as well as the cylindrical wall surfaces 40and 42 must be cooled or heated. It is also usual that for optimumefficiency in carrying out the process the temperature of the materialwhile being processed must be maintained in a range between certainlimits, which can be quite narrow and also quite critical and may becorrespondingly difficult to achieve. The heat exchange means providedmust therefore provide adequate heat exchange capacity if a temperaturewithin the required range is to be maintained. A common prior artsolution is to surround the stator with a cylindrical casing throughwhich heat exchange fluid, usually a liquid, and if possible water, ispassed, the heat exchange fluid flowing along outer surface 52 of thestator wall.

[0030] The material flowing in the processing passage 38 forms arespective boundary layer on each of the cylindrical surfaces 40 and 42,the thicknesses of which are determined primarily by the materialviscosity and its relative flow velocity over the surfaces in the flowpath, which in this apparatus may be taken as one circumferential flowlength around the stator surface 40 or the rotor surface 42, which areapproximately equal. The difference between the internal diameter of thestator surface 40 and the external diameter of the rotor surface 42 issuch that the radial dimension of the processing passage 38 is at mostjust equal to the combined thicknesses of the two boundary layersback-to-back, so that there is no room between them for an interveningbulk layer of radial dimension sufficient to permit Taylor vortices tobe formed and disrupt the high-shear mixing that takes place. As aspecific example, with apparatus in which the rotor circumference was 40cm (16 in), the rotor rotated at 2,000 revolutions per minute, and thekinematic viscosity was 0.000001 m²/sec, the thickness of a singlelaminar boundary layer was 0.85 mm (0.033 in), and therefore that ofback to back interacting layers 1.7 mm (0.067 in). The molecular sizeeddies that are induced by this interaction of the two layers give riseto physical interactions and/or chemical reactions of the material inthe passage 38 that are area based rather than volume based as withprior art processes, so that, for example, immiscible materials rapidlyinteract to give homogeneous emulsions, gas entrainment is immediate,and chemical and biological reactions now proceed much more rapidly. Itmay be noted however that, although the invention is described as usedin conjunction with this very specific form of processing apparatus, ithas general application in the entire field of heat exchange, as will beapparent from the description that follows.

[0031] The heat to be removed or added passes through the stator bodywall 30, which is therefore as highly heat transmissive as possible, asby being made of highly heat conductive material, and being as thin aspossible consistent with the required structural strength. In thisparticular embodiment a heat exchange or transfer structure comprises aninner cylindrical tubular member 54 and an outer cylindrical tubularmember 56 which are coaxial with one another, and also with the stator30, the outermost casing 32 and the rotor 36. The two cylindricalmembers 32 and 56 form between them an annular heat transfer fluidreceiving plenum 58, the fluid entering the plenum via one or moreinlets 60. The two cylindrical members 54 and 56 form between them anannular heat transfer fluid discharge plenum 62, the fluid leaving theplenum via a one or more outlets 64. The cylindrical member 54 and theouter cylindrical surface 52 of the stator form between them an annularheat exchange or heat transfer plenum 66, in which the transfer of heatenergy between the surface 52 and the heat exchange fluid takes place.

[0032] As is usual in heat exchange apparatus the inlet or inlets 60 areplaced at one end, while the outlet or outlets are placed at the otherend to establish a flow path for the heat transfer fluid along itsentire length. It is also usual to arrange that the direction of flow ofthe fluid is opposite to that of the material, although concurrent flowis also possible. It is inevitable that a temperature difference willoccur between the entering fluid and that discharging at the outlet/s,and this difference must of course be maintained within a limit set forthe particular process, so that the temperature of the material while itis being processed is also maintained within the predetermined limitvalues. There are in practice a number of ways in which the requiredlimits can be achieved, as by increasing the size of the heat exchangerand/or increasing the rate at which the heat transfer fluid is pumpedthrough it. In this embodiment another way is illustrated, namely bydividing the apparatus into a plurality of shorter units (six in thisembodiment) that are closely spaced in succession along the length ofthe stator, each with its own inlet/s 60 and outlet/s 64, and suppliedwith the heat transfer fluid in parallel with one another, usually froma common source (not shown). The length of each unit, and consequentlythe number required, is determined principally from consideration of thetemperature differences that are to be maintained in both the transferfluid and the material, and the volume and pumping pressure required forthe transfer fluid.

[0033] The heat transfer fluid is delivered from the receiving plenum 58to the heat transfer plenum 66 via a large number of closely uniformlyspaced, radially inward directed passages 68. Each passage is formed bya respective tube 70 that extends from the cylindrical member 56 andopens at its radially outer end at an inlet port 72 to the receivingplenum 58; the tube passes through a hole in the cylindrical member 54,the junction being sealed to prevent leakage between the plenums. Thetube terminates very close to the stator outer surface 52 at an outletport 74, which also constitutes a corresponding delivery inlet port(also employing the reference 74) to the transfer plenum 66. Eachpassage 68 delivers its portion of the transfer fluid to the surface 52in the form of a radially inward directed delivery jet stream thatimpinges forcibly on the surface 52, preferably at a velocity that issufficient for it to penetrate and completely disrupt the barrier layerof the fluid thereon. The heated or cooled transfer fluid reboundingfrom the surface is promptly, almost immediately, removed from the heattransfer plenum 66 via an approximately equally large number of spacedremoval outlets 76, of at least the same total flow capacity, formed inthe cylindrical member 54, through which the fluid passes into the fluidremoval plenum 62 and out through exit or exits 64. The inlets 74 andoutlets 76 are interspersed and disposed relative to one another suchthat each inlet 74 is surrounded by a number of immediately adjacentoutlets 76, and vice versa, thereby providing flow paths for the fluidafter it has impinged on the surface 52 and rebounded therefrom that areuninterrupted and are as short as possible so as to achieve the requiredprompt removal. The transfer fluid passing out of the heat exchanger maybe discarded, but more usually will be passed to an external heatexchanger (not shown) in which heat energy is removed or added, as isrequired with careful control of the exit temperature of the heattransfer fluid, so that it can be recycled back to the processingapparatus.

[0034] An inherent characteristic of the methods and apparatus of theinvention is that the heat transfer fluid engages the surface involvedin the heat transfer for a relatively very brief period of time, ascontrasted with most conventional apparatus in which contact isprolonged for as long as possible, and is then immediately removed anddelivered into a plenum 62 spaced from the surface. It is a preferredcharacteristic that the contact which does take place is extremelyforceful and intimate, directly with the surface without theintervention of the usual fluid barrier layer, so that there is enhancedopportunity for heat transfer despite the very short contact engagementtime. It is a consequence of this very short contact period that themajority of the temperature difference in the heat transfer fluidbetween the inlet/s 60 and the outlet/s 64 takes place during thisperiod, with relatively little of the difference produced before thesurface 52 is engaged by the fluid, and after the fluid has left theheat exchanger plenum 66 and exited through the outlet/s, giving thepossibility of much more precise control of the value of the temperaturedifference than is possible when the contact time with the heat exchangesurface is substantial. A corollary to this is that the wall of thecylindrical member 56 containing the inlet ports 72 should be of lowheat transmission capability to minimize heat transfer between theincoming and outgoing flows of heat transfer fluid. This can beachieved, for example, by making it thicker, bearing in mind that thesize, weight, cost, etc. are thereby increased, or even by making it ofa heat insulating material, such as plastics or ceramic.

[0035] As examples of specific dimensions for the methods and apparatusof the invention, in apparatus of the kind specifically describedherein, each outlet (delivery) port 74 to the heat exchange plenumdirecting the respective stream of fluid against the surface 52 may bespaced a distance of from 0.001 cm to 0.2 cm (0.0004 in to 0.08 in) fromthat surface. The diameter of the rotor and stator body surfaces of anindividual machine can vary widely. For example, the rotor body can beof diameter as small as about 0.1 cm (0.04 in), having the form of asolid needle rotating within a stator tube of the required dimensions.Such an embodiment will usually comprise a single unit in a large arraythereof, e.g. as many as one thousand at a time, such an array beingused to perform a corresponding number of simultaneous chemical and/orpharmaceutical reactions in what is now known as combinatorialchemistry, the reactions usually differing from one another by onlyminor increments. A practical upper limit for the rotor diameter isabout 500 cm (200 in), and is set primarily by the engineering designrequirements to maintain the radial dimension of the processing passage38 sufficiently constant with a rotor of this diameter, which will alsousually be of substantial length in order to give a desired highmaterial throughput.

[0036] The dimensions of the delivery ports 74 into the respective heatexchange plenum will also depend upon the rotor diameter, the rate ofheat exchange required, the degree of temperature control needed, andtherefore the rate of flow of the heat exchange fluid to ensure that theboundary layer is penetrated. As a specific example, with a rotor ofdiameter of about 8 cm (3.2 in) each delivery nozzle will provide adelivery port 74 of between 0.3 cm and 1.5 cm (0.12 in and 0.6 in). Thefluid removal outlets 76 must together provide an exit flow rate atleast equal to the inlet flow rate of the delivery inlet 74, andpreferably somewhat greater, the number, size and distribution of theoutlets 76 being chosen to obtain the desired objective of promptremoval from the plenum 66 with the shortest possible uninterrupted flowpath. The rate at which the heat exchange fluid is passed in the flowpaths will be such that its impact velocity against the stator surface52 disrupts the barrier layer thereon, attainment of this objectivebeing indicated by a corresponding increase in the rate of heat transferobtained.

[0037] In the embodiment described so far the fluid streams are directedradially inward toward the common axis line 33 and hence impinge on thestator outer surface at a right angle, as viewed both transversely andlongitudinally. In other embodiments in which the stator is a cylinder,or otherwise curved, this angle is not a right angle and is insteadbetween a right angle and an angle that is tangential to the surface.Such an embodiment is illustrated, for example, by FIG. 4, which is atransverse cross section through an apparatus as otherwise shown inFIGS. 1-3, but wherein the tubes 70 providing the passages 68 arecorrespondingly inclined. With such an inclination the fluid streams notonly disrupt the boundary layers by their impact thereon, but also havea component tending to shear the layers away from their associatedsurfaces, with the possibility that lower velocities can be employedthat are still effective to produce intimate engagement of the impactingstreams with the surface 42. FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment in whichthe tubes 70 and the corresponding jets of heat transfer fluid aredelivered to the surface 42 in the longitudinal direction at an anglethat is other than a right angle, the Figure being a longitudinal crosssection through apparatus as otherwise shown in FIGS. 1-3. The Figurealso illustrates the situation when the surface 42 is flat (see alsoFIGS. 6 and 7), wherein the delivery streams impinge the surface 42 atan angle from a right angle to an acute angle whose minimum value is setby the physical constraints imposed by the size of the tubes 70 and thestructure required to support them in the apparatus.

[0038]FIGS. 6 and 7 show the application of the invention to heatexchange apparatus not necessarily physically associated with, or partof, any specific other apparatus. The heat exchange apparatus of FIG. 6comprises a heat exchange structure (subscripts A) on one side of a flatplate 30 that heats or cools the plate, while a second structure(subscripts B) has its heat exchange fluid heated or cooled by itscontact with the plate 30. Thus, the same references that are used inthe preceding Figures are used herein with the suffix A or brespectively for the same elements associated with the two differentstructures. The plate 30 has respective inner surfaces 40A and 40B andis equivalent to the stator outer casing 30 of the apparatus of FIGS.1-5. The heat exchange apparatus overall takes the form of a rectangularstructure that has the plate 30 forming one wall of the two structures,being attached to the remainder of each structure with a respectivegasket 78 between them. Inner and outer flat plates 54 and 56 areequivalent to the cylindrical members 54 and 56 respectively of theapparatus of FIGS. 1-5, the plates having tubes 70 mounted in holestherein that provide respective passages 68 conveying the heat transferfluid from plenum 58 via inlet ports 72 and outlet ports 74 to the heatexchange plenum 66. Fluid rebounding from the inner plate surfaces 40Aand 40B is immediately discharged through the respective outlet ports76A and 76 b to the respective fluid discharging plenum 66A and 66B, andthence to the respective outlets 64A and 64B. FIG. 7 shows a heatexchanger whose function is to heat or cool the plate 30.

List of Reference Signs for Drawings

[0039]10 Supply tank for first reactant

[0040]12 Supply tank for second reactant

[0041]14 Metering pump for first reactant

[0042]16 Metering pump for second reactant

[0043]18 Inlet to processing chamber

[0044]20 Supply tank for further reactant/s

[0045]21 Metering pump for further reactant/s

[0046]22 Apparatus baseplate

[0047]24 Rotor bearing supports

[0048]26 Stator supports

[0049]28 Variable speed electric drive motor

[0050]30 Cylindrical stator body

[0051]32, 32A, 32B Heat exchanger outermost casing/s

[0052]33 Common line for various longitudinal axes

[0053]34 Rotor drive shaft

[0054]36 Cylindrical rotor body

[0055]38 Annular processing passage or chamber

[0056]40, 40A, 40B Stator inner cylindrical surface/s

[0057]42 Rotor outer cylindrical surface

[0058]44 End member annular surfaces

[0059]46 End closure members

[0060]48 End seals

[0061]50 Processing passage outlet

[0062]52 Stator outer cylindrical surface

[0063]54, 54A, 54B Heat exchanger inner member/s

[0064]56, 56A, 56B Heat exchanger outer tubular member/s

[0065]58, 58A, 58B Heat exchange fluid receiving plenum/s

[0066]60, 60A, 60B Inlet to plenum 58, 58A, 58B respectively

[0067]62, 62A, 62B Heat exchange fluid discharging plenum/s

[0068]64, 64A, 64B Outlet from plenum 62, 62A, 62B respectively

[0069]66, 66A, 66B Heat exchange plenum/s

[0070]68, 68A, 68B Passages from plenums 58, 58A, 58B respectively toplenums 66, 66A, 66B respectively

[0071]70, 70A, 70B Tubes forming passages 68, 68A, 68B respectively

[0072]72, 72A, 72B Inlet ports of tubes 70, 70A, 70B respectively fromplenums 58, 58A, 58B respectively

[0073]74, 74A, 74B Outlet ports of tubes 70, 70A, 70B respectively anddelivery inlets to plenums 66, 66A, 66B respectively

[0074]76, 76A, 76B Fluid removal outlets from plenums 66, 66A, 66Brespectively to plenums 62, 62A, 62B respectively

[0075]78 Gasket between body 30 and heat exchange structure

I claim:
 1. A method for transferring heat energy to and from a bodysurface respectively from and to a heat transfer fluid within a spacebounded by the body surface for heat transfer contact with the bodysurface, the method comprising: applying heat transfer fluid to thespace and to the body surface from a plurality of delivery inlets in theform of a corresponding plurality of spaced delivery streams impingingon the body surface; and thereafter removing heat transfer fluidrebounding from the surface from the space through a plurality of spacedremoval outlets distributed among the delivery streams to establishcorresponding flow paths for the heat transfer fluid between eachdelivery inlet and one or more removal outlets.
 2. A method as claimedin claim 1, wherein the heat transfer fluid delivery streams impinge onthe body surface at a velocity sufficient to penetrate and therebydisrupt a boundary layer formed by any fluid on the body surface.
 3. Amethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein each delivery inlet is a deliveryport from which a respective stream of fluid impinges on the bodysurface and the delivery port is spaced a distance of from 0.001 cm to0.2 cm (0.0004 in to 0.08 in) from the body surface.
 4. A method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein each delivery inlet is disposed immediatelyadjacent its associated one or more removal outlets to ensure that thecorresponding flow path or paths between the delivery inlet and itscorresponding outlet or outlets are uninterrupted.
 5. A method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein each delivery inlet is disposed immediatelyadjacent its associated one or more removal outlets to ensure that theheat transfer fluid impinging on the body surface is removed promptlyand by flow paths between each delivery inlet and its correspondingoutlet or outlets that are uninterrupted and as short as possible.
 6. Amethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the delivery streams impinge thebody surface at an angle from a right angle to an acute angle thereto.7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body surface is flat andthe delivery streams impinge the body surface at an angle from a rightangle to an acute angle thereto.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the body surface is curved about an axis and the deliverystreams impinge the body surface at an angle from a right angle to anangle that is tangential thereto.
 9. Apparatus for transferring heatenergy to and from a body surface respectively from and to a heattransfer fluid within a space bounded by the body surface for heattransfer contact with the body surface, the apparatus comprising: aplurality of delivery inlets delivering heat transfer fluid to the spaceand to the surface in the form of a corresponding plurality of spaceddelivery streams impinging on the body surface; means for supplying heattransfer fluid to the delivery inlets for discharge therefrom asrespective delivery streams; and a plurality of spaced removal outletsdistributed among the delivery inlets removing heat transfer fluidrebounding from the surface from the space via corresponding flow pathsfor the heat transfer fluid established between each delivery inlet andone or more removal outlets.
 10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9,wherein the means for supplying heat transfer fluid to the deliveryinlets supply the heat transfer fluid in quantity such that theresultant delivery streams impinge on the body surface at a velocitysufficient to penetrate and thereby disrupt a boundary layer formed byany fluid on the body surface.
 11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9,wherein each delivery inlet is a delivery port from which a respectivestream of fluid impinges on the body surface and the delivery port isspaced a distance of from 0.001 cm to 0.2 cm (0.0004 in to 0.08 in) fromthe body surface.
 12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein eachdelivery inlet is disposed immediately adjacent its associated one ormore removal outlets to ensure that the corresponding flow path or pathsbetween the delivery inlet and its corresponding outlet or outlets areuninterrupted.
 13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein eachdelivery inlet is disposed immediately adjacent its associated one ormore removal outlets to ensure that the heat transfer fluid impinging onthe body surface is removed promptly and by flow paths between eachdelivery inlet and its corresponding outlet or outlets that areuninterrupted and as short as possible.
 14. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 9, wherein the delivery streams of fluid impinge the body surfaceat an angle from a right angle to an acute angle thereto.
 15. Apparatusas claimed in claim 9, wherein the body surface is flat and the deliverystreams of fluid impinge the body surface at an angle from a right angleto an acute angle thereto.
 16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, whereinthe body surface is curved and the delivery streams of fluid impinge thebody surface at an angle from a right angle to an angle that istangential thereto.
 17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein eachdelivery inlet is a delivery nozzle discharging a stream of fluid ofdiameter at the nozzle exit from 0.3 cm to 1.5 cm (0.12 in to 0.6 in).18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the body surface has aninner surface extending parallel thereto to provide a heat exchangeplenum between them; wherein the inner surface has an outer surfaceextending parallel to it to provide a heat exchange fluid dischargingplenum between them; wherein the outer surface has an outermost casingsurface extending parallel to it to provide a heat exchange fluidreceiving plenum between them; and wherein means for delivering heatexchange fluid from the heat exchange fluid receiving plenum to the heatexchange plenum comprises a plurality of tubes each opening at one endto the heat exchange fluid receiving plenum and at its other end closeto the body surface.
 19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein thebody surface is cylindrical and has an inner cylindrical surfaceextending parallel thereto to provide an annular transverse crosssection heat exchange plenum between them; wherein the inner cylindricalsurface has an outer cylindrical surface extending parallel to it toprovide an annular transverse cross section heat exchange fluiddischarging plenum between them; wherein the outer cylindrical surfacehas an outermost cylindrical casing surface extending parallel to it toprovide an annular transverse cross section heat exchange fluidreceiving plenum between them; and wherein means for delivering heatexchange fluid from the heat exchange fluid receiving plenum to the heatexchange plenum comprises a plurality of tubes each opening at one endto the heat exchange fluid receiving plenum and at its other end closeto the body surface.
 20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein thebody surface is cylindrical and each delivery inlet is a delivery nozzledischarging a stream of fluid of diameter at the nozzle exit from 0.3 cmto 1.5 cm (0.12 in to 0.6 in).